


Where In Poitiers is Carmen Sandiego?

by Saanak



Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: F/F, Nothing angsty happens, Optimum Fluff, Zack and Ivy are the best wingpeople, absolutely no VILE or ACME interference, author spent way too much time researching the history of Poitiers, post To steal or Not to steal, so gay and sugary it might give you cavities
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:48:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23542627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saanak/pseuds/Saanak
Summary: Julia opens her door to find... no one behind it. But there's still something on her doorstep that launches her on a treasure hunt.
Relationships: Julia "Jules" Argent/Carmen Sandiego | Black Sheep
Comments: 19
Kudos: 345





	Where In Poitiers is Carmen Sandiego?

**Author's Note:**

> After that very gay interactive episode, I just had to write something fluffy and angst-free, so here we are! Enjoy!

The roses were… unexpected, but they sure were nice. More than nice. Plus, _those_ she could keep, unlike the other ‘presents’ Carmen had left on Julia’s doorstep.

Julia suspected the thief would soon be back for her coat and hat, but it was almost a week before there was a knock on Julia’s door.

Slightly shaking with excitement, Julia took a deep breath before opening the door.

There was no one at the door, and to say that Julia was disappointed wouldn’t even begin to cover it. Except… just as she was closing the door, she noticed that something had been left – again – on her doorstep.

As she picked it up, she realized it was a box of chocolates – and not just _any_ chocolates. Those were from a famous chocolatier in Poitiers, one that Julia had always wanted to buy from.

She set the box on her kitchen table and opened it. Inside, unsurprisingly, were rows of chocolates. More surprising however, was the presence of a map – a map of Poitiers. The sticky note attached to it read “Meet me where Aliénor used to have her court” and was signed with the symbol of a red fedora.

Julia couldn’t help but chuckle. Had Carmen… prepared a treasure hunt for her? _As if I hadn’t already spent enough time chasing after her_ , she thought. But the roses had smelt amazingly and their scent was still embalming her apartment. Plus, it was a Sunday and it was sunny outside, so Julia folded neatly Carmen’s coat into a backpack, put the fedora on and locked her apartment.

Now… Aliénor d’Aquitaine – mother of Richard Lionheart , queen of France then of England– had spent most of her time in Poitiers in Aquitaine’s ducal palace. The palace was still standing proudly in the city center of Poitiers and Julia directed her steps there. She had always loved Poitiers, it was a place full of history, that was even nicknamed “City of a hundred steeples” for its numerous churches.

Twenty minutes later, she stood at the bottom of the stairs leading to the entrance of the palace. It was an imposing medieval building, and had served as a judicial building all through the 20th century. People were mingling around, but there was no trace of her favourite thief. Had she been sent on a wild-goose chase? The image of Carmen as a goose popped in Julia’s mind and she had to refrain herself from laughing out loud. At that moment, red hair caught her eyes. Well, and the rose that was held by the owner of said hair.

“You are… Zack, right?” she asked as she approached him.

“Jules! Glad to see ya made it!” He grinned. “Nice hat by the way,” he added, winking.

They never had the time to exchange more than a few words, but his friendliness put her at ease immediately. “So,” she asked, “should I leave you the coat and the hat?”

“Oh! No! Please don’t! Carm would probably murder me. I’m just here to give you this,” he handed her the rose, “and your next clue.”

Julia looked at him with amusement. “All right, I am all ears.”

He took out a paper from his pocket and cleared his throat. “Hum hum. Before you meet Red Fedora, you will need to make one more stop – well technically two stops.”

“First, you will need to buy a souvenir of Poitiers – whichever you like. Second, you will have to go to the most renowned church of Poitiers, mostly because of its infamous western façade.”

“A souvenir, huh?

While she was thinking and attaching the rose to her bag in order to have her hands free, Zack was considering her. “You know, she’s been talking about you non-stop.”

“She – she has?”

“Oh yeah, she used to mention you from time to time, but since Milano it’s more and more, and since Monte Carlo it’s all she does!”

Julia looked at him with suspicion. “Well, she knows I am probably the only person who might catch her.”

“Sure, whatever you believe Jules,” he replied with a knowing smile, eyes fixed on the rose he had given her.

“Goodbye, Zack.”

She began walking towards Notre-Dame-la-Grande church, hoping to find a souvenir on the way.

The Tourist Office was near the church, so she stopped there. It was only then that she realized she had no idea who or what for she was meant to buy something.

Of course, while she was browsing the store, her phone biped. A message from an unknown number read “Pick whatever you want as a souvenir, I just wanted you to have something to remember this little escapade.”

In the end she picked a small copy of the Notre-Dame-la-Grande church, it seemed fitting.

She spotted Ivy as soon as she arrived on the large plaza where the church stood – it was pretty hard to miss her: while flower sellers were pretty common there, redhead sellers only holding one rose were a much lesser occurrence.

“Hello Ivy.”

“Jules! Glad ya could make it. I won’t keep you long, and you’re almost done I promise,” Ivy said as she handed Julia a second rose. “You are meant to meet Red Fedora where spring can be witnessed, and the view of the Clain is breathtaking.”

Julia smiled. “Thank you Ivy”.

“At yer service! See ya around Jules!”

And Julia was off to the Blossac park – largest park in Poitiers. She considered taking the bus, but decided against it. The weather was way too nice and it was only a 20-minutes walk to get there.

She realized as she was walking she had no idea what Carmen wanted with her. Surely if she had just wanted her coat back she would have stopped by the apartment. Julia was glad Carmen had trusted her during the gala in Monaco – it meant that their trust truly went both ways. And well, Julia had noticed Carmen’s wandering eyes during the gala – not that Julia could blame her when she had done her fair share of… appreciating as well.

She finally entered the park and just enjoyed the view for a few seconds. It was surprisingly quiet for a Sunday, and she wandered under the trees near the entrance.

“Ah, my favourite ACME agent,” said a familiar voice behind her.

“I was beginning to think I would never catch you,” Julia sassed as she turned around. Carmen was in regular clothes, a stylish red leather jacket on top of a grey tee-shirt almost matching her eyes and jeans that were tight enough to not leave much to the imagination.

Not that Jules had any reason to imagine anything. Especially _not_ after seeing Carmen in that red dress in Monte Carlo. No sir.

“I didn’t want to draw too much attention to myself, since last time I was here…” Devineaux had his mind scrambled with a technology ACME still didn’t understand. “But I really wanted to see you,” Carmen added timidly. _This_ was new. Carmen had never been shy about what it was she needed or wanted.

“I figured you would be back for your coat at least,” Julia said as she pulled Carmen’s coat out of her bag. “And I’m glad for the chance to say thank you for, well, everything.” The _many_ stolen artefacts that were returned to their true owner, the roses, the chocolates.

“No, thank _you_ for trusting me.” Carmen said, putting her hand on Julia’s forearm. Julia blamed the spring weather for the heat she felt rising on her cheeks. “I don’t know what I would have done without your help. Zack and Ivy might have been…”

Julia squeezed Carmen’s hand gently. “They are fine, that’s what matters.”

“I still want to thank you. Properly.”

“Carmen, I think all the artefacts plus the roses and the chocolates are eno-“

“Julia,” Carmen interrupted, suddenly looking serious. Her name sounded strange on Carmen’s lips, and Carmen noticed, amending with a nervous smile, “Jules. Please, let me ask you on a date.”

“Oh.” _Oh_ indeed _._ “So the roses…”

“I mean, I don’t think I could have been clearer,” Carmen said with a smirk. “Unless I completely misread this and in that case-“

“No!” Julia exclaimed. “I mean, no, you did not misread anything. But yes, I would love to go on a date with you.”

The smile that appeared on Carmen’s lips was the most luminous thing Julia had ever seen. Surely she would go blind from looking at it too long – but that was a fate she would accept gladly if it meant looking at it a few seconds more.

“Great! Are you free tomorrow night?” When Julia nodded, Carmen’s smile grew impossibly larger. “Should I pick you up, around 7.30?”

Julia nodded again, trying to comprehend exactly how she had managed to end up with plans for a _date_ with the woman she had been chasing for months – and had been crushing on for… well, months too.

“I will see you tomorrow then,” Carmen said as she lightly took the fedora off Julia’s head to put it on.

Carmen winked and started to leave when Julia called out. “Wait, what should I be wearing?” Just as the question was out of her lips, she cursed her practical mind. Way to break the spell.

She heard Carmen chuckle. “Surely you must know that I wouldn’t be able to take my eyes off of you even if you were wearing a potato sack.”

Julia had never been more thankful for the distance – and even then she wasn’t sure it was enough to cover the blush she felt rising to her cheeks.

Carmen continued, “Wear whatever makes you comfortable, we won’t go to too public a place anyway.” The thief tipped her hat and was gone in the blink of an eye.

This time, when Julia opened the door, it was to discover grey eyes twinkling with anticipation.

“You look stunning,” Carmen said as she held out her hand, palm upwards.

Almost reflexively, Julia went to take it but Carmen bowed, swiftly catching Julia’s hand and leaving the lightest of kiss on it. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise, but Carmen’s hand was slightly calloused. Carmen’s hand felt strong and steady and at this point Julia was just trying really hard to concentrate on anything else than the strong pounding of her heart. That woman would be the death of her.

She tried to hide her disappointment when Carmen released her hand, but the glint in Carmen’s eyes told her she must have failed.

“You are…sublime as well,” Julia stuttered.

Carmen offered Julia her arm, and Julia took it with no hesitation. "Shall we?"

"Lead the way, miss Sandiego."

**Author's Note:**

> I hope I didn't drown y'all in the historical details of Poitiers - it is a lovely city but I hope it wasn't too much. Anyhoo.  
> Let me know what you thought! Kudos and comment are always super duper nice, but even more in those weird times we're living!  
> And if you feel like sending me prompts, I'm on tumblr @alexdumas-ghost !  
> Take care!


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